Sword Art Online - Verge of Apocalypse
by GanzForTheWin
Summary: A virus has been unleashed onto the world, leading to the largest mass massacre known to mankind. The end of the world is upon us as it's overrun by the infected; undead creatures that thrive on the lives of others. And it's up to one boy to find the cure, as he embarks on an adventure filled with love, loss, and sword skills.
1. Chapter 1

Kirito shot up. His body was sweaty, and his eyes were wide with fear as his messy black hair draped over his forehead. His already pale skin seemed drained of blood. He blinked a few times, recollecting himself as he his breathing regulated. He didn't know the time, but his guess would be it was still fairly early in the morning, as he wasn't one to wake up late. His eyes felt heavy since he struggled to get sleep the night prior. The boy looked around the surrounding area, recognizing the it to be his room. However, the sight of it was unfamiliar at first glance. The window was barricaded with slabs of wood, and the door was covered by the desk in which his three computer screens and keyboard once rested upon. He placed his hands on his head; his skull was pounding. Why did it hurt so much, He thought, until the memories of the events taking place for the past two days came to mind.

"Dammit!" Kirito yelled out loud as he sprinted towards the schools designated parking zone. A humanoid creature snarled behind him, running at a slightly faster pace. His eyes were peeled for his black motorbike, knowing his only chance of escape would be to use it.

The school was set to be running a lock down, but the entire student body decided against it and fled, wanting to get away from the emergency at hand. During the 4th class of that day, an announcement was on national television, saying a virus of some sort had broken out in the country of Japan. Unfortunately, the virus rapidly spread throughout the country and had, in less than 3 hours, reached Kirito.

Kirito quickly glanced behind him. The creature had shortened it's distance between it and Kirito, and the fact that he was getting tired didn't assist him in any way. Kirito picked up his pace and quickly found the black motorbike which he used to get to school. He was still a considerable distance away, and it'd take him 20 seconds more or less to reach it. At this point, he had increased the distance between him and it. He pulled his keys from his sweater pocket and hoped that he would have enough time to start the bike and ride way from the danger behind him.

 _Kirito hopped into the bike and quickly inserted the keys into the designated slot to the right of him. 'I can do this,' he thought, but the monster behind him had different plans. It hopped onto Kirito, nearly knocking him off the bike. It let out a rather dark screech, one Kirito had never heard before, and whipped his neck forward, looking to sink it's teeth into the boy's flesh. Kirito jerked his body to the right as the brute narrowly missed his shoulder, biting into the throttle. Kirito took advantage and thruster upwards, sending the undead being forward. He quickly moved back, and drove off towards the exit, where he fled home and boarded himself in his room for the next few days_.

Kirito also remembered the mysterious man who appeared on the projected screen in class that day.

 _"The virus is spread through contact and contamination of the blood or saliva. If you are to be spat on or bitten, even scratched by one of the beings currently roaming the country, you might as well consider yourself dead." The dark outline of a man said to the class. Kirito could hear the same announcement being made outside in the hall, indicating that the rest of the school, and possibly even the entirety of the city, were hearing the message being told._

 _"At the current moment, there is only one way to cure the virus and stop the spread of the virus. There is one undead creature, the boss if you will, who's bloodstream contains the cure. Do what you can to survive; the apocalypse has begun."_

Kirito slammed his fist onto the bed. The thought of this mysterious shadowy man appearing on national television and presenting the end of the world to the people angered him. "Who does he think he is?" Kirito asked to no one in particular. He looked over reached into the box resting beside his bed. A wrinkly sound could be heard as he pulled out packages salted nuts, tearing open the top and pouring the contents in his hand. He had been living off of these for the past two days, afraid that the food he has in his fridge could possibly be contaminated, but his stomach yearned for something else. He brought his hand to his mouth and forced himself to chew the edibles, struggling to swallow. His throat was dry; he was in desperate need of water. But the only water he could get was from the faucet outside, and he didn't want to risk getting infected from the contents, even less did he want to step outside into the hellish world waiting for him.

He finally managed to consume the mashed up nuts in his throat, letting out a low groan afterwards. "Damn," he muttered. "If I eat any more of that, I'm gonna go insane." He let himself fall back into his bed, slightly relaxing his tensed muscles. He didn't want to leave the comfort of his room, he wanted to ignore the problem at hand, but something inside him told him- no, it called for him- to find the cure. He felt drawn to help, as if it had to be done against his own free will, and yet, he willingly wanted to help.

A loud, bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the neighborhood, snapping Kirito out of his trance. The cry for help came from nearby, and soon after, a pounding could be heard outside his home.

'Someone's outside my house,' Kirito thought to himself, gritting his teeth together. He let out a small grunt. In any other situation, he would leave his room and head towards the living quarters, opening up the front door after questioning the person attempting to enter. But the idea of stepping outside his room sent a chill down his spine, and opening the front door could be considered suicide.

But the urge to help lingered inside him. Yes, it was true; he wasn't the most liked nor the most social person at his school- he could sometimes come off as a dick, actually- but he was a very kind person, who always helped others when in need.

Another cry for help could be heard, and Kirito declared the voice to belong to a female. He felt like he recognized the voice, instinctively standing up. He slowly walked over to his door and pushed over the computer desk keeping the door from opening. Afterwards, he reached out for the knob, his hand hovering over it. It shook as he struggled to think of a quick game plan. Step out. Open door. Close door. Step back in. Four simple steps that even he could easily carry out. He let out a deep sigh, and placed his hand on the knob, turning it and stepping into the hall outside.


	2. Chapter 2

Kirito peeped his head out from the door frame and looked around, making sure the coast was clear. No one else was in he house with him, nor did he ever hear the breaking of glass or wood inside the house, but taking precautions was a must. He stepped out into the hall, making his way towards the front door. Looking through the peephole, he inspected the outside surroundings.

Completely barren, he thought. Who was pounding on my door? Should I step outside and call for help?

-No, Kirito replied to himself. Going out there would be putting my life in grave danger, and making noise would just attract the attention of the simple minded beings lurking in the streets. But the voice calling.. Where did she go?

As if to answer his question, a quick figure quietly landed infront of the door, seemingly jumping off the roof. The person quickly turned and stared through the peephole into Kirito's eyes. Kirito stumbled back, nearly loosing his balance. He quickly recovered, and realized that someone- or something- was outside, wanting to be let in.

Do I open the door?

Kirito took a step back. He had no way of knowing whether the figure outside was human or not. For all he knew, the girl standing outside could have been one of the undead, similar to the one that chased him around days before.

My survival is all that matters. If the person outside this very door is really one of those things, I'll have no way to defend myself. I can't risk it.

Putting his thoughts aside, he turned away from the door and took a step back towards his room, until a voice interrupted him.

"Whoever's in there, please listen.." A soft, almost melodic voice whispered. Her tone was quiet, sobs scattered between words. Kirito froze, his eyes widening.

"I'm scared.. My family is dead, all my friends are gone.. Please help.." She plead, fear evident in the words she spoke. All of Kirito's fears faded away with that call for help. If he was gonna die, he would die helping another person rather than turning his back on someone in need. He turned his body around and unlocked the door, turning the knob and pulling. The girl fell through the door frame onto him, her honey brown her gracefully following. Kirito pulled he close as he stepped to the side, closing the door and resetting the lock.

Asuna Yuuki. That was the name of the mysterious girl with honeybrown hair and matching eyes, curled up in a blanket at the corner of Kirito's bed. He had yet to actually communicate with her, besides the usual 'What's you're name?' and 'Are you okay?'. She was around his age and was wearing a school uniform similar to his, munching on the nuts offered to her by Kirito.

Kirito didn't know what to think of the situation. Here he was, helping a girl who was in a higher grade than him. If the circumstance were normal, he'd probably be titled a loser for attempting to even be on the presence of an upperclassmen. But now that the tables have turned, the few amount of people that were still alive at this point had no choice but to stick together to ensure survival.

Kirito looked at the girl and realized something that hadn't come to mind until then; she was awfully beautiful. Her long, honeybrown hair perfectly corresponded with her pale skin, and her delicate build made her seem almost fragile.

I guess the situation at hand has distracted me from the little things.

Another though occurred to Kirito; he knew absolutely nothing about this girl, except her name.

"S-So, Asuna," He started, catching the girl's attention. He himself was taken back, surprised at how smoothly her name rolled off his tongue, as if he's said it before. "What happened out there?"

Asuna finished the last of her nuts, hesitant to answer. Her hands slightly trembled. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, and looked up at the boy sitting across from her. Her eyes were filled with emotions, but Kirito struggled to read all of them.

"It's horrible," she started, unable to keep eye contact. She lowered her head. "Practically every intersection is run by them. The less densely populated areas are small neighborhoods, like these. The phone lines are no longer working and electricity has been cut. It's like the entire city was evacuated, abandoned."

"Why didn't you leave with everyone else?" Kirito asked, and immediately regretted it as her expression changed.

"Because if I did, I'd be like the people out there." Her eyes veered toward the barricaded window, referring to the undead outside. "I don't even know if calling them people would be the correct term anymore.."

That last part left an uncomfortable feeling in the atmosphere, making Kirito shuffle in place. He understood what she meant by the first part. The way the school had reacted when the mysterious man had revealed what had happened, it was like a wild stampede. Mayhem struck as the students all rushed out of their classes as teachers struggled to keep order in the facility. But even then.. Just the idea that the people they once communicated with, the ones they'd once call they're neighbors and friends, the policeman and teachers, they were all..

Kirito shook his head, stopping the train of thoughts that railed through. "What about the school? Have you been there since the incident?"

A slight gasp escaped her throat, her bottom lip quivering. ".. It's gone. I haven't seen another living from the school person in the past two days, let alone the city."

"!"

Kirito was dumbfounded. He figured the virus would spread, but he had no idea that it would completely take over the city in two days.

He brought his finger to his chin. "What kind of virus are we fighting.." He thought aloud.

"I don't know, but is it even possible to create such a thing?" She inquired.

"What do you mean?" He blinked.

"Well, it's like this. I don't know much about science or the way these things work, but to have a virus that doesn't just eat away at your body, but also alters your personality, motives, and state of mind.. Is that even possible?"

Kirito pondered for a little bit before finally giving an answer. "Yeah.. You're not wrong. To have a virus that can affect your body in multiple ways isn't uncommon, but the major changes the one virus does do are outstanding.. In other words, it isn't just giving you an overload of mucus or a bad case of the cough, but instead is completely altering the host's physical and mental state." He paused for a bit, seemingly putting more thought into his answer. "It would have to have different aspects of different viruses. Like a loss of hypothalamic functioning, which controls satiety. People with this kind of damage eat and drink nonstop.. Their extremely short attention span would likely be the result of damage in their parietal lobe. Simply put, the virus must be affection several parts of the brain rather than the body, possible eating away at the brain cells." Kirito concluded.

There was a long silence. Asuna registered the newly acquired information, making sense of what she could. She took a deep breath, and looked up at the boy who had come to her aid. "Thank you," she slightly smiled, "For saving me."

"U-Uh, sure." Kirito responded, caught off guard. It was the first time he's seen her smile, even if it was just slight. "Don't sweat it."

"I almost forgot to introduce myself," he continued. "I'm Kirito." He smiled, and stuck his hand out.

"K-Ki.. Kirito." She slowly said. "What a peculiar name." She giggled.

Kirito agreed, it was rather peculiar. He had no idea why, but he felt as if that wasn't his actual name, like if he had another alias of the sort.

"So Kirito," Asuna continued, regrettably. The air was cleared the moment before, and the little conversation they had beforehand was enough to add a feeling of relaxation, releasing a bit of pressure from the atmosphere. "What are we gonna do now.? I mean- we can't stay here forever."

Kirito nodded, cringing as slight flashbacks of the two days in which he consumed nothing but salted nuts. "Yeah, we don't have the great of a food supply here, plus there's no water. Also," He stared at the floorboards, gritting his teeth, "I can't just sit here and let people die.." A sudden anger overcame him as he clenched his fist in attempt to suppress it. "If I have to go another day helplessly stuck in this room.."

Asuna placed her hand on his shoulder, causing Kirito to unexpectedly flinch. "Hey there, relax a bit." She soothed. He looked up, staring into her auburn eyes. Her touch was comforting beyond belief, and the way the words left her lips left Kirito mesmerized, alleviating the anger he felt and instead replacing it with a feeling of slight serenity.

"I don't want to sit here and do nothing either. But it's scary out there, and a small break from it all would be great right now," Asuna continued. "Together, we'll stop this madness, and take down that final boss the man spoke of. But for now, let's rest up for a little bit."

Kirito looked into her eyes, his mouth slightly gaping. "O-Okay."


	3. Chapter 3

"And why exactly are we going to the mall?" A confused Asuna asked, her head craned at a slight angle. The person she was asking this to was across from her, stretching his legs, arms, and virtually any other body part that felt stiff. "And why are you stretching?"

"I'd bet my life we'll be running at some point after we step out this house, might as well take the proper precautions. And besides," He brought his arm across his chest. "I know of a good place to get weapons over there."

Kirito started making his way towards the front door. Asuna followed but was still confused. From what she was aware of, the only kind of weapon they would have at the mall would be the nerf guns they'd contain in any and every toy section, although something kept telling her that wouldn't be an effective way of taking out hoards of creatures dead-set on mauling you to pieces.

Her thoughts were cut off by the click of the door unlocking, sending a chilling vibe down to the tips of her fingers. Her eyes adverted to Kirito, who's black eyes were already sternly focused on her.

"Asuna, listen. The moment we step out there, there can't be any talking higher than a whisper. Don't trip, fall, or step on anything that can potentially attract the attention of others. If we die happen to mess up, then run. Got that?" Asuna nodded, showing her understanding. Kirito's face relaxed a bit as he let out a smile, "And finally; don't die."

The air was filled with a foul odor, a stench only rotten flesh could give off. The air wasn't overly humid, but the slight breeze and sunshine gave Asuna a nice warmth that she would've enjoyed on any other day.

Currently, there wasn't a soul in sight. Instead, there were abandoned homes and cars, have opened gates, and the occasional fly. This didn't surprise Asuna at all; a majority of the zombies would be more likely to still be lingering around the highway leading to the nearest city, where most of the residents in the city went in attempt to evacuate the area. Fortunately, the mall was a fair distance away from the highway, and wasn't too far from Kazuto's home, so the 'zombies' weren't as likely to harm the two in anyway, if they played their cards right.

... Kazuto.?

Asuna halted for a split second. Who is Kazuto? The name was awfully familiar to her, and she felt a strange yet unexplainable correlation between the name and Kirito.

Kirito seemingly took notice of Asuna's change in demeanor, and decided to bring it up. "Something bothering you?" He asked, turning to face her.

She blinked, snapping out of her trance. "W-What? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking is all." She frantically waved. Then something caught her attention. "Wait, why aren't you whispering?"

"There doesn't seem to be a thing in sight, I'm sure most of them are still in the city anyway." He replied. He was so nonchalant about everything, it amazed Asuna how one could be put in a dire situation like this and still seem to be enjoying themselves. She swore she could see excitement in his eyes from time to time.

They kept walking as the minutes passed by, a bit of small talk here and there to keep ease the situation. Soon enough, the mall came into view.

"Hey Kirito, would going in from the front be a good idea?" Asuna asked as they approached the parking lot, coming to a stop on a small hill. Assuming that the virus had reached the mall beforehand, the exits would be backed up from the number of people attempting to leave. If the virus was inside the mall, then the people rushing to get out would be infected before a fourth of them could even evacuate the building. That being said, not just the main entrance but every other major entry point would be filled with the things, meaning they'd have to find another way in.

The things.

It had only been a few days, and already she didn't think of them as people, but as beings that differed from her.

That's because they are, she told herself. They're not human; they didn't feel the love or compassion, neither did they have the slightest bit of knowledge. They were filled with something else, something a human wasn't.

A killing intent.

A shudder went down her spine at the thought. She shook her head, not wanting to continue the thoughts that had accumulated in her head.

"No, we'll probably have to find another way to get in. We don't have the keys to the mall, so we can't get into through the small doors on the side. Breaking a window to get in would attract too much attention, so that's a no show as well." Kirito expressed his ideas, furrowing his brows as he realized that none would be effective. Asuna looked at her surroundings. Beside the mall was a parking lot, with abandoned cars and trucks filling a few spots. She looked down, and saw a few stones that were big enough to look like they were chipped off a boulder.

"What if we were to distract them?" Asuna asked. Kirito, who was still trying to think of a way in, pipped his up.

"How would we do that?"

"There's way more cares around here than I can count; what if we were to set off the alarm inside one of the vehicles? We could use the stones to do so from a distance; They'd get distracted by the noise, and we could take advantage and sneak in." Asuna explained, a sense of pride building up inside of her. However, Kirito didn't look too sure.

"Activating the alarm would cause too much noise, it'd probably attract the zombies inside too. Then we'd have a hoard of zombies to get around rather than just a group." He responded, shooting down her idea. "But you're on the right track."

Asuna narrowed her eyes and looked away. "Well I guess you won't be getting any sandwiches anytime soon."

Kirito nearly lost his footing, despite the fact that he was sitting down. "Wait what?! That's not fair!" He frantically exclaimed.

"Should've tried being a bit more considerate now, shouldn't you?" She folded her arms across her chest, letting out a slight giggle. She stayed quiet and waited for a reply, but it never arrived. She peeped opened an eye to see Kirito's face completely blank, expressionless. "Asuna.." He said, his tone considerable lower than before.

"Hu.? What's that matter?"

"You've never made me sandwiches before, not once."

Asuna's face went pale. He was right, he's never had any of Asuna's sandwiches, nor have they ever even spoken to each other till the day before. So why was it that she said such a thing with no hesitation?

"Then why did I..?" Asuna uttered, completely speechless. "And you too.. It's like you knew exactly what I was talking about."

"Because I do," Kirito responded. "It's weird; these last few days, I've felt like some parts of my memory are foggy, as if I had a whole other set of memories from a whole other life, waiting to be uncovered. When you brought up the sandwich, I could feel the taste of the sandwich materializing in my mouth, but I've never had the sandwich before."

Asuna knew what he meant. "Yeah, same here. When I first met you, I felt like I've known before, but I couldn't remember where."

Kirito looked off to the side, seemingly not wanting to dwell on the subject, when something caught his attention. "Hey Asuna, check it out." He called, and pointed off to the distance.

Asuna looked over in the direction in which Kirito had pointed to, and squinted her eyes. Protruding out a door labeled Management Only was a hand, motioning for them to come.

"I think we should go over there." Kirito proposed.

"What?! Are you out of your mind?! We don't even know what's in there! It could be a trap!" Asuna scolded, but to avail as Kirito was already halfway down. She let out a frustrated groan as she unwillingly followed him along.

She stayed behind Kirito, making sure he didn't distance himself too much from her. They maneuvered around the parking lot, steering away from the creatures that lurked around. Kirito suddenly came to a stop between two cars, causing Asuna to slightly bump into him.

"Why'd you sto-" Asuna started to whisper before Kirito put his hand over her mouth. She looked around him and saw the hand in the doorway frozen in place, it's palm facing them with its fingers pointed upwards. No less than a second after, a zombie shuffled over, pausing in front of Kirito. A deep fear penetrated Asuna as she trembled. Kirito didn't show his fear, but surely he too was petrified of the current situation.

The infected turned and faced Kirito, it's nauseating breath leaking out from the gaps in its teeth. Asuna could feel the nuts start to rise, and was sure she'd let it out if she had to endure one more second of it. A noise suddenly went off in the distance, and Asuna could see through the car windows that one of the infected had stumbled and fallen onto the ground. The creature turned its head, his attention now set on the disrupting noise as it shuffled away.

"That was way too close," Kirito sighed, sitting on the floor.

Asuna took a deep breath. "Yeah, I thought for sure we were gone." She let out an exasperated sigh, her heart still beating at an increased rate.

"I'm just happy you guys made it out alive, that could've gotten really ugly." A third voice chimed in. Asuna and Kirito looked up.

A man in his mid twenties stood over them, leaning on the counter. He wore baggy white pants and a red robe with black armor, a bandana holding holding his spiky brown hair in place. He gave Asuna the impression of a friendly samurai of some sort, similar to the kind you'd see in a kids show.

"Oh, the name's Klein." He smiled, point his thumb at himself. He noticed the uneasy look on the two sitting down. "Hey, you guys can trust me, promise." He blinked. "I mean, I did just save your asses."

Kirito got up and dusted himself off. "I'm Kirito," he introduced himself, and gestured over to Asuna after helping her up. "And this is Asuna."

For some reason, Asuna didn't feel threatened in any way, but instead received a sense of relief. The familiar knowing feeling came back to her, and she was sure that Kirito felt it too and was entrusting in it as a sign to be friendly to this Klein character.

"You two alright? You guys are just kids-" Klein asked as he faced downward, bringing his fist up and clenching it. "He's gonna regret doing this to us.."

"He?" Kirito replied, registering the man's last phrase. "You mean you know the man that did this to us?"

"No, his voice was distorted and appearance covered, it'd probably be impossible to know who it was without knowing the guy personally." He answered, a frown plastered on his face.

"So you got the announcement too." Kirito stated, bringing his hand to his chin.

"Not just me," Klein added on, "But it seems like the entire city did too, it was probably broadcasted nationally."

Asuna stiffened up. A national broadcast? There weren't many companies with that much control, as an act like that would probably cost tons of cash. She eased up, and looked at her surroundings for the first time since she set foot in there. To her surprise, they were inside the shop Kirito had mentioned earlier, the place he originally intended to get to. Surrounding them were what he believed were the best weapons one could use in a situation like there's. Using a gun against the infected would effective if it came down to taking them out in sheer numbers, but loud blast released from the chemical reaction taking place would simply capture the attention of the infected around them, in which a hoard would ensue. Therefore, avoiding a loud weapon would be a must against the oversensitive creatures. The fact that Asuna had never even come in contact with a gun would further convince her to stay away from them as a use of self defense.

So naturally, if silence was the option you were shooting for, then a a blade would be the ideal weapon. More specifically, a sword.


End file.
